This blog continues the discussion that we began with Epic Journey: The 2008 Elections and American Politics (Rowman and Littlefield, 2009).The latest book in this series is Defying the Odds: the 2016 Elections and American Politics.

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Defying the Odds

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Dead Donors

The Republican Party’s on the hunt ahead of 2016 for younger voters — and younger megadonors.

Conservative super PACs were dealt a blow in the past nine months, when two of their biggest benefactors died, Texas billionaires Harold Simmons and Bob Perry.

Combined, the two men, who were the second- and third-biggest donors behind the Adelsons in the 2012 elections, gave nearly $50 million last cycle — that’s more money than the next 10 Republican donors combined.

The void the two leave behind represents an even bigger problem for the Republican Party: just as it struggles to attract younger voters, it also must win over younger elite donors.

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Among the top 10 Republican donors of the 2012 election cycle, only one was under the age of 60 — Peter Thiel, who is 46 – and only three were under 70 – Miriam Adelson, 68; Robert Mercer, 67; and Robert Rowling, 60, according to public records. On the Democratic side, half of the top 10 donors were under 70 and three were under 60.